English 11 G4
Response to “Are Zoos Good or Bad for Animals?”
In this article I learned some of the good and some of the bad about zoos domestication of animals. Many people have different views on whether or not zoos are a good place for animals to be. I believe that it depends on the zoo itself. Some zoos are really good at taking care of there animals while others neglect the creatures. In the article it brings up the point that zoos have greatly increased in the last 4,000 years. Many zoos now use safe habitats for there animals instead of steel bars and cement cages like they used to use back in the day. They have also changed the ways that the zoos acquire the animals. Instead of just capturing them directly from the wild, many zoos use captive breeding programs and also bring in abandoned animals that other wise wouldn't survive in the wild. These programs have saved many animals who were also on the brink to extinction. However, trying to domesticate these animals also brings up the point that some animals are just meant to be wild. An example of this would be with elephants. Because of how massive they are and that they take a long time to mature, some experts say that it's very difficult for them to meet many of there needs like they would have in the wild. Many zoos can't afford these animals diets because they are so limited. “Zebras at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. starved to death because of insufficient or incorrect food, and the same zoo's red pandas died after ingesting rat poison” (Page 3 of article) Many of these things I didn't know and have shocked me. I intend to use this information to help me further develop my paper, and to show the pros and cons of animal domestication.
Horton, Jennifer. "Are zoos good or bad for animals?" 18 September 2008. AnimalPlanet.com. <http://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/zoos-good-or-bad.htm> 17 March